May 16, 2006

Over the weekend, I stumbled into some stats, articles and info on Trippi. I knew he was/is a towering legend at UGA, and after reading more about him I think the sheer scope of his legend doesn't get the pub it should.

Most Dawg fans know that Charlie Trippi is one of the 3 greatest and most decorated Bulldogs. He won the Maxwell Award in 1946, and he played on Orange, Sugar, Oil and Rose Bowl teams. Along with being a dominating single wing halfback, I once heard Bill Hartman call him "the best defensive back to ever play at UGA."

Trippi is honored in four halls of fame, is one of four Bulldogs to have his jersey retired, played professional baseball with the Atlanta Crackers, coached at the college and NFL level, and retired to establish a reasonably successful real estate business.

He's a pretty nice guy in person, too. I don't know if he still does it, but I ahve seen him and Zippy Morrocco and a couple of other coach/players from days of yore just hanging out swapping stories in the Arby's on Broad St.

Here is another guy who gets essentially no pub for a great career (information herein is from Wikipedia entry for Rauch):

John Rauch earned the starting quarterback slot for the University of Georgia as a freshman in 1945, he led the Bulldogs to a 36-8-1 record. Included in these victories are four straight bowl game appearances, as well as an undefeated record in 1946. On an individual level, he won first team All American accolades following his senior year, and left the school as college football's all-time passing leader with 4,044 yards.

Rauch was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1949, then traded for the rights to Southern Methodist University's Doak Walker.

Rauch became coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1966, lost just once during the 1967 regular season, and faced the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. For his efforts, Rauch was named the AFL Coach of the Year. After a 12-2 season in 1968, Rauch resigned to become head coach of the Buffalo Bills, where his first draft pick was O.J.Simpson. Rauch later coached the CFL Toronto Argonauts.

In 2003 Rauch was honored for his stellar career in the college ranks when he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.